Chinese-Croton, Blindness Tree, Buta Buta

Excoecaria cochinchinensis Lour.

ex-coe-CARE-ee-ah coe-chin-chin-EN-sis

Euphorbiaceae

Explanation of name:  Generic name comes from Latin to make blind.  The sap in the eye reportedly causes (temporary?) blindness. Cochin China is an old name for Viet Nam.

Natural range:  Old World Tropics

Recognition:   Small shrub with (in the commonly cultivated variegated forms) having the nearly opposite leaves purple on the underside, with the top sides variably variegated.  One popular colorful cultivar is ‘Firestorm’.

Landscape uses: Dramatically colorful foliage.  Careful: sap causes eye trouble and skin irritation.

Internet sources: http://www.hkflora.com/v2/leaf/euphor_show_plant.php?plantid=1055

http://www.asiaticanursery.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=839

http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/Excoecaria_cochinchinensis.htm